In October 2012, ZeniMax opened Battlecry Studios as part of their Bethesda Softworks subsidiary. But since then, we’ve pretty much heard nothing. So here’s what we were able to dig up.

ZeniMax describes the studio as working on “engaging gameplay experiences for a connected world”, that is “redefining the Free-To-Play game space”, and the studio is headed up by Rich Vogel, executive producer of Star Wars: The Old Republic, so it’s pretty clear that the game has an online focus. This is made all the more apparent by numerous job listings talking about “large scale client/server applications” and the “creation and maintenance of the persistence layer for the game”. Adding extra icing to the online cake is that most of Battlecry’s existing employees worked on MMOs previously, or “specialize in online multiplayer”.

The game itself is described as AAA, with previous job listings mentioning RPG experience, and this one detailing “Shooter/Action game experience” and “experience in competitive multiplayer games”.

But perhaps what is most interesting is that variousdifferent job listings all ask for “Working experience in the CryEngine”. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim used Bethesda’s own The Creation Engine, while The Elder Scrolls Online started off with the HeroEngine, but now has its own engine.

Crytek’s CryEngine, most notably used in Crysis, is best known for its graphical prowess, and has been proven to work with F2P multiplayer games with Warface. Here’s what Skyrim probably wouldn’t look like using the CryEngine:

Considering ZeniMax Online is working on MMO The Elder Scrolls Online and this is a F2P MMO Shooter/Action/RPG it’s highly possible that this game is a Fallout MMO. However, when the studio was opened, Rich Vogel said: “I have always admired and respected Bethesda’s approach to making great, original games”, suggesting that there’s a chance that the game is a new IP.

What would you prefer – a Fallout MMO or a new IP MMO? Share your thoughts in the comments below.